Joint Statement by President Bush, President Fox, and Prime Minister Martin

Joint Statement by President Bush, President Fox, and Prime Minister
Martin

Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America

We, the elected leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States,
gather in Texas to announce the establishment of the Security and
Prosperity Partnership of North America.

Over the past decade, our three nations have taken important steps
to expand economic opportunity for our people and to create the most
vibrant and dynamic trade relationship in the world. Since September
11, 2001, we have also taken significant new steps to address the
threat of terrorism and to enhance the security of our people.

But more needs to be done. In a rapidly changing world, we must
develop new avenues of cooperation that will make our open societies
safer and more secure, our businesses more competitive, and our
economies more resilient.

Our Partnership will accomplish these objectives through a
trilateral effort to increase the security, prosperity, and quality of
life of our citizens. This work will be based on the principle that
our security and prosperity are mutually dependent and complementary,
and will reflect our shared belief in freedom, economic opportunity,
and strong democratic values and institutions. Also, it will help
consolidate our action into a North American framework to confront
security and economic challenges, and promote the full potential of our
people, addressing disparities and increasing opportunities for all.

Our Partnership is committed to reach the highest results to
advance the security and well-being of our people. The Partnership is
trilateral in concept; while allowing any two countries to move forward
on an issue, it will create a path for the third to join later.

Advancing our Common Security

We will establish a common approach to security to protect North
America from external threats, prevent and respond to threats within
North America, and further streamline the secure and efficient movement
of legitimate, low-risk traffic across our shared borders. As part of
our efforts, we will:

Implement common border security and bioprotection
strategies;

Enhance critical infrastructure protection, and implement a
common approach to emergency response;

Implement a border facilitation strategy to build capacity
and improve the legitimate flow of people and cargo at our shared
borders.

Advancing our Common Prosperity

We will work to enhance North American competitiveness and improve
the quality of life of our people. Among other things, we will:

Improve productivity through regulatory cooperation to
generate growth, while maintaining high standards for health and
safety;

Promote sectoral collaboration in energy, transportation,
financial services, technology, and other areas to facilitate business;
and invest in our people;

Reduce the costs of trade through the efficient movement of
goods and people; and

Enhance the stewardship of our environment, create a safer
and more reliable food supply while facilitating agricultural trade,
and protect our people from disease.

Next Steps

We will establish Ministerial-led working groups that will consult
with stakeholders in our respective countries. These working groups
will respond to the priorities of our people and our businesses, and
will set specific, measurable, and achievable goals. They will
identify concrete steps that our governments can take to meet these
goals, and set implementation dates that will permit a rolling harvest
of accomplishments.

Within 90 days, Ministers will report back to us with their initial
report. Following this, the groups will report on a semi-annual
basis. Because the Partnership will be an ongoing process of
cooperation, new items will be added to the work agenda by mutual
agreement as circumstances warrant.

Through this Partnership, we will ensure that North America remains
the most economically dynamic region of the world and a secure home for
our people in this and future generations.